Dirty Procrastination
Posted 01-22-2010 at 02:44 AM by theemperor
People seem to have trouble with motivation in IM. It is easy to be distracted and procrastinate. It can be difficult to concentrate when there is no "boss" demanding a deadline and you have to decide yourself what the goals are. It is easy to move the goalposts to make things easier to accommodate a few hours hapless surfing on a forum!
So how to counter this? Well I am still learning how. Here are some things that help me:
So how to counter this? Well I am still learning how. Here are some things that help me:
- Don't focus on the money, the # visitors, the # sales etc. You can check these occasionally. Instead focus on your next task as listed on your to-do list and get it done.
- Don't be afraid to do something that might not make you a lot of money, if that thing may teach you something.
- Reward yourself for any small achievement, e.g. even if you make a site that creates $50 a month, that is still a few more $ towards your goals and proves you can make money online.
- Try to gravitate towards IM activities you enjoy. If twitter is more exciting to you than SEO you might do better concentrating on it more because (i) you'll do a better job because you have passion and (ii) you'll stay motivated because you are enjoying it.
- Remember that a lot of IM, e.g. affiliate marketing has no demands, no customer, no boss. You can pick it up for a couple of spare hours then put it down again at your leisure. This is a huge plus ... learn to enjoy this flexibility offered by IM as opposed to freelancing where you are chasing for work then sweating to complete it on time.
Total Comments 2
Comments
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The things that worked for me were first, keeping in front of my mind the reason I was going to work so hard. That was easy when it was because I had to make money or be put out on the street. After that, it was more difficult. A shiny new toy wasn't enough and I became complacent.
So for the first part, I would have to stop and find out what it was that I absolutely could not live without, and tie obtaining it to my career. (You can also increase your monthly bills but that's not as much fun.)
The second thing was singular focus. I don't mean, just have only one business and put all the affiliate offers and side ventures away for a minute...
I mean pick one project in your one business and work on it exhaustively until it's either successful or you know you gave it everything you possible could have. That's never failed me. Life's gotten a big complicated and I wish I could run back to that.Posted 01-23-2010 at 12:25 AM by Tinu
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Thanks I can understand this - really it is a survival instinct if our survival is threatened we are sure as hell motivated, but it takes something else to carry on with this once we are comfortable. And that is totally natural and perfectly sane.
I think if I tie this to travelling i.e. success in IM = more holidays etc. then I would get the motivation you talk about.
Thanks for the wise words Tinu.Posted 01-23-2010 at 07:36 PM by theemperor
